Peas? Puh-leeze.

As if I my paranoia needed additional fuel, I've recently been informed that peas are a "high risk allergen" food. This information was shared with me sheer minutes before I was to feed my daughter her first bites of the gooey green goodness.

It came as a warning from someone's friend who is a pharmacist through my friend who is a therapist via my Facebook page. That's a reliable route of travel, right?

You know, the problem isn't what you do with this type of doomsday information when you get it. I mean, it's like anything, right? You take the information and either discard it or act upon its warning.

But, when you're in a written public conversation like on these social media sites, you have to tread carefully when your response will be read so as to determine your willingness to risk your child's very precious life.

While discussing peas, I had to walk this line.

I feel as though once someone tells you "do not feed your child X, or else..." if you only have a few options.

You can respond that you are disregarding the information, at which point the message is this--
"Whatever, beeyotch! I'm shoveling that X in my kid's mouth just to show you that you're wrong and if they die from it, it will have been worth the rebellion."

Or, you can respond that you will look into it which says this--
"I'm just tolerating your bullshit information to maintain the friendship, but I have no intention of taking you seriously now or in the future." (It says that. Really.)

Then there's the other end of the spectrum. You can agree to heed the warning and alter your plans which apparently means this--
"I'm a total paranoid freak who is susceptible to whatever anyone tells me and am just waiting for someone to comfort me. Please comfort me and make me less afraid of the world."

Now, I know that the last one means this precisely because when I chose to heed the anti-peas warning ('cause I figure there's no harm in reducing risk even if it IS just overcautious), I was gently chided by another friend and then comforted about the low risk of allergy overall.

You know, I'd rather just not have these conversations in public where there are watchful eyes that seem to be just WAITING to pounce on the slightest inclination that you may not know what you're doing.

Well, keep your eyes peeled ladies. I have NO CLUE what I'm doing over here.